By Jennifer Bamberg, Investigate Midwest
The blockbuster movie “Twisters” opened in theaters across the U.S. in mid July in the midst of a record-setting month and year for tornado frequency, which has contributed to billions in crop losses this year.
According to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center, tornado reports in May and July were more than double the average of tornadoes from 1991 to 2022. According to the agency, only two days in May saw zero tornadoes.
On May 21, an EF-4 tornado, the second most destructive tornado based on a rating system by the National Weather Service, carved a 44-mile path of destruction across southeast Iowa. Authorities confirmed five fatalities and 35 injuries.
By June, residents of Greenfield, Iowa, began to notice the effects of tornado damage to corn crops. The tornado ripped freshly planted corn out of fields and deposited it miles away. Residents found corn growing out of unlikely places, like storm drains, sidewalks, near street signs and cracks in the concrete, according to WTVA.
Tornados and other severe weather events like high wind storms and hail can damage tens of millions of acres of farmland in a single event. The Illinois Farm Bureau estimates that severe weather events caused over $21 billion in crop losses in 2023.
This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. Visit us online at www.investigatemidwest.org
Main Image Photo credit: Damage from a tornado that hit Carl Junction, Missouri, on May 22, 2019. photo by Brigette Waltermire, News21
All other images courtesy of Investigate Midwest. Used with permission.
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